Karen refugees & Their Resettlement
in Georgia
Daniel Gilhooly
September 2010
Myanmar (Burma)
“Burmese” Resettlement in Georgia
Year
Georgia
United States
2002
0
128
2003
3
200
2004
14
1054
2005
16
1447
2006
23
1323
2007
401
9776
2008
574
12,852
2009
875
18,275
History of Burma and the Karen
Burma is the first destination of American Missionaries
 The Story of Toh Meh Pah
 Karen Conversion to christianity
 British Coloninization 1870s-1948
 Since Independence the country has been at civil war
 Miltary Junta (ethnic Burmans) have ruled
 8-8-88- The 45 kyat and 90 kyat policy
 The Karen Diaspora
 Over a million ethnic minorities flee
 Refugee Crisis in Thailand
Who are the “Burmese” refugees in the
USA?
 The majority of refugees listed as “Burmese” are ethnic
Karen, many of whom had lived for extensive periods in Thai
refugee camps. Many school aged children were born in the
camps.
 Karen represent 90% of the refugees listed from Burma
 Most Georgian refugees are Sgkaw (Saw) Karen, 95% of
whom are Christians.
 Other ethnic groups include:
 Chin, Po Karen, Shan, Mon and ethnic Burmese
Faces of the Karen in Georgia
Karen names
 Per He Lu- Mountain of Teak
 Bwa Bwa-White-White
 Tee Ser Paw- Sweet Water flower
 Mahn Phan Shaung- Mr. Bright Unity
 Mular Moo- Hope Life
 Eh Phyo Paw- Collective Love Flower
 Sah Moo Dah-Star in the Sky
 Eh Ker Ter- Loved the Most
 Moo Moo- Life-Life
Who is a refugee?
 According to Article One of the 1951 Geneva
Convention, a refugee is a person who:
is outside his or her country of nationality or habitual
residence;
 has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his or her
race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social
group or political opinion;
 and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the
protection of that country, or to return there for fear of
prosecution.
Karen refugees
 Karen is a term that refers to multiple ethnic hill groups.
 Refugees have been crossing the Thai-Burmese border since
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1975
Prior to 2006 most Karen refugees residing in Thai refugee
camps were ineligible for resettlement due to the presence of
KNU forces in and around Thai refugee camps.
Approx. 140,000 refugees live in Thai camps.
Karen have been resettled in Sweden, Great Britain, Finland,
Canada, the USA, and Australia
It is estimated that over 1 million Karen live illegally in
Thailand
Thai refugees camps
 Three major Refugee Camps in Tak District, western Thailand
 Nupo Camp
 Mae La
 Umpiem Mai
UNHCR, http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/47b997fe1e.html
Karen Resettlement in Georgia
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Case assurance
Sponsorship arrangement
Setting up of apartment
Welcoming family at airport
Cultural orientation
School registration
ESL registration- to date only 4% of all GA minorities receive ESOL support.
Social Security application
Georgia State I.D. application
Minimal financial support designed by U.S. government standards
Employment counseling and job placement
Health care referrals and treatment if necessary.
http://www.rrisa.org/resettlement.html
Criteria for Resettlement
 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Criteria
1. Medical check-up
2. Credible fear of persecution
3. Criminal background check
4. Not providing “material support” to Karen National Union
(KNU)
*5. Although religion is not an “official” requirement 90% of
Karen resettled are Christian despite the fact that they represent
only 30-40% of the total Karen population.
The Status of Three Families
 Very little data on Karen Resettlement nationally.
 Out of the 3 families I work with ( 13 students) all are in danger of
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failing their respective grade level except 1 first grader.
No way to test for learning disabilities
Difficulties communicating with parents
Health Issues related to diet and hygiene
No additional language support.
Lack of awareness, preparedness, resources
Lack of socialization, cultural isolation.
Age of Onset with English as major factor in success.
The “Shy,” and “fearful” people
Karen in Popular Culture
 Little Daughter (Undaunted) by Zoya Phan
 Burma VJ-Documentary
 Sacrafice-Documentary
 Inside Burma: Land of Fear-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L48BW_Z-FNs
 Prisoners of Conscience- Documentary
 Beyond Rangoon-film
 Rambo IV-film
 The Burmese Harp-film
 Aung San Suu Kyi- Noble PrizeWinner , 1991
Who are the Karen?
By “Sam”ber Htoo and Hser Htoo
Where are the Karen from?
 The Karen state is located in
Burma.
 Karen people also live in
northwest Thailand.
 Many Karen people live in the
mountains.
Karen Culture
 Foods
 Language
 Religions
 Clothes
 Sports
 Music
 History
Karen flag
 There are meaning to
some colors on Karen
flag.
 Red- for instance,
signifies braveness.
 blue- faithfulness.
 White- purity.
Food
 The Karen people usually eat
rice, meat and vegetables.
Such as beans, cucumbers,
pumpkins, water greens,
peppers, tomatoes, and
mangos.
 Fish, chicken, pig, cow, duck,
goat, and egg.
 Fish paste is eaten with most
meals
Karen script
 Karen language has 14 tones.
 Karen has 25 letters
 No final consonant sounds
 No Verbs tenses
Religion
 Buddhist
 Christianity
 Animist
 My family is Baptist
Women clothes
 There are a lot of Karen dresses for
Karen women. People weave white,
green, blue, red, yellow, black long and
short dresses with many different
colors.
 Karen people have many different types
of traditions regarding dress.
Sports
 Soccer
 Caneball
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m7Wtvd00Yw
 Volleyball
Music
 Traditional music
 Classic rock
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LItAdRGbEHs
 Christian
 Rap, hip-hop
Karen History and our Family History
 19th century-British colonize Burma, arrival of American missionaries.
 During World War II Burmese support Japanese while Karen support British
 1948-Burma Independence
 Burma Independence leads to civil war
 1970s Burmese government establishes the four cuts policy
 By 1975 Karen begin to escape to Thailand
 My family arrives in Thailand in 1990
 1990 Samber is born in Bownow camp
 1992 Hser Gay is born in Tha Law Thaw camp
 In 1995 my family found safety at Mae la camp run by the UN
 In 2007 we left for the United States
 In January 2009 we resettled in Oglethorpe, Georgia
Girl shirt
. This is the girl long shirt.
Woman
 This is woman shirt. They usually wearing
like this.
The majority of refugees listed as “Burmese” refugees
are ethnic Karen, many of whom had lived for
extensive periods in Thai refugee camps. Many
school aged children were born in the camps.
Karen represent 90% of the refugees resettling in the
USA listed from Burma
Most Georgian refugees are Sgkaw (Saw) Karen,
95% of whom are Christians.
Other ethnic groups include:
Chin, Po Karen, Pa’O, Karenni, Shan, Mon and
ethnic Burmese